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Aquarium, Brooks Museum could give Downtown a daytime vibe

A first look at an ambitious new proposal for a freshwater aquarium and relocated Brooks Museum on the Memphis riverfront. Plus: Lamar Alexander tries to save your health care (maybe), the Grizzlies season tips off and more.

Aquarium, Brooks Museum could give Downtown a daytime vibe

The 9:01 is a daily column on all things Memphis.

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October 17, 2017 - The City of Memphis is considering working with a private partner to build an aquarium on Mud Island, as well as a pedestrian bridge from the south end of the island to the riverfront.(Photo: Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

Good morning in Memphis, where the orange ball is about to tip, but first …

Downtown by Daytime: Don’t get me wrong; there are things to do Downtown during the day. The National Civil Rights Museum is a jewel. South Main is a good stroll any ole time. And from the Big River Crossing extension of the Harahan Bridge to the newish Front Porch restaurant at Beale Street Landing, the riverfront has grown more inviting (with much more work to be done).

Still, Downtown recreation has a more night-time connotation: Games and concerts at FedExForum, shows at the Orpheum, blues on Beale. But if the good ideas presented to City Council yesterday are well-executed -- and isn’t that always the essential part of any plan? -- then the character of Downtown Memphis as a daytime (i.e. family friendly) destination may be radically transformed.

When the Brooks first announced a potential move from Overton Park, the notion drew some criticism. This was to be expected. There’s always some reflexive opposition to change. But the Brooks’ wandering eye was understandable based on the physical constraints of its current building, and this Downtown location -- again, if well-executed -- is something of a no-brainer, allowing for a better, more secure space for the museum’s permanent collection, a stronger pull for traveling exhibitions, and better positioning for a wider-range of programming. A legitimate question: It will likely be bigger, better, and draw many more visitors to the city. Will it be as user-friendly for locals?

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Memphis is exploring a Riverfront redevelopment plan that could include a multi-million dollar aquarium along the bluff.
Sara K. Clarke

The move could be a very good one for Brooks and the city and only a bittersweet departure for Overton Park, which would lose a museum (or at least that museum) but be granted some extra canvas on which to paint.

The Mud Island proposal, similarly, does not quite come out of nowhere. The Riverfront Concept visualized the second land bridge from Front to the southern end of the island and explicitly proposes that Mud Island be an “Eco Hub” with “freshwater science program” partnered with the University of Memphis. The second part, mentioning Christian Brothers University as well, was a secondary component of the city’s aquarium proposal yesterday.

An aquarium wasn’t explicitly mentioned, but a passing reference to the Memphis Zoo (not referenced yesterday) hinted in that direction, and, of course, an aquarium as a potential amenity somewhere in the city has been batted around for awhile. (An ancillary benefit here would be letting us permanently table the idea of retrofitting the Mid-South Coliseum for that purpose.)

If -- say it with me -- well-executed aquariums have a proven track record. The idea also acknowledges the placement in the context of the Mississippi River. In this concept, the scale model of the river at the park would apparently remain, and the rest of the park, outside the aquarium, would be free to the public. Presumably, remaining outdoor spaces on Mud Island would get some commensurate and much-needed TLC. It will be interesting to see if other portions of the Riverfront Concept’s “Eco Hub” idea -- including an eco-themed public school on the island -- are pursued. Preserving and improving the amphitheater as a prime outdoor concert space is also part of the plan. It was disappointing that developer Andy Cates’ earlier eco-themed Mud Island proposal did not get a fuller hearing, but this plan, like that one, fits the location and sidesteps the mostly forgotten threats of the space being ceded to being a kind of Bass Pro Wonderland or Branson-managed music space.

Speaking of Bass Pro: There may not be a heavy overlap (am I stereotyping?) between outdoors shoppers and art museum visitors, but the aquarium as a third point in a riverfront destination triangle would seem to appeal to large swathes of both. Other questions will emerge as this moves forward. Downtown has plenty of parking, but you can be assured that this will be one of them.

That Riverfront Plan from this summer is yielding some big results, if only just on paper so far. Here’s hoping these ideas go forward. And it will be interesting to see what else -- Tom Lee Park, you’re in the batter’s box -- may come of it.

And Now For the Senior Senator: Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, as the top Republicans on foreign policy and health care, respectively, have been taking turns in the national spotlight and it was Alexander back there again yesterday, this time with a bipartisan bid to protect health market subsidies for low-income citizens that the President has attempted to cancel.

"This agreement avoids chaos," Alexander said. “Over the next two years, I think, Americans won’t have to worry about the price of health (insurance) and being able to buy insurance in the counties where they live."

From “Moonlight” to “Beale Street”: Director Barry Jenkins has left the Miami beaches in “Moonlight” for “Beale Street.” Ok, he’s not actually on Beale Street and neither is his new movie. It’s an adaption of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which is set primarily in New York and Puerto Rico. The title is a lyric from W.C. Handy’s “Beale Street Blues.” We’ll take it, if only in name only:

Day 1. Humbled. Feelin blessed, privileged, unworthy. But I’ll do my best to be WORTHY of Mr. Baldwin’s vision. 👀 y’all on the other side 🙌🏿 pic.twitter.com/tYfGSLnzJ5

Quick-and-Pop: Hey, Grizzlies season starts tonight! Geoff Calkins sets the table. Ron Tillery takes a look at David Fizdale putting a fuller stamp on the team’s style of play. And I’ll throw out a final link to my final season preview, about how a new roster requires a different blend of offense and defense to succeed and about the combination of assets that the Grizzlies alone, among the West’s middle tier, can boast. After a summer of change, the Grizzlies will actually field the same starting lineup tonight (Mike Conley-Andrew Harrison-James Ennis-JaMychal Green-Marc Gasol) as they did in last season’s opener. The game will also, of course, feature a particularly juicy “B” plot in the form of Tony Allen’s return to FedExForum. (We’re going to say preseason didn’t count, especially since he didn’t play.)

And then you had me, man. I wasn’t the best player or anything, I wasn’t the All-Star caliber guy. But when I look back on it, I think our teams — they were kind of made in my image: Weren’t the most prolific scoring team. Weren’t shooting anyone’s lights out, or always pushing real fast. But we were louder than you. We were tougher than you. And you better believe that everyone was playing their hearts out on defense. It was like, before you even knew it — we had a real identity.